Discovery
by Somariel
Summary: Eagle's arrival in Cephiro and his discovery that Lantis has returned. Set in the manga universe.


A/N: Many thanks to Antoinette Veronica for beta'ing this for me.

All recognizable dialogue and thoughts are taken from Tokyopop's 10th anniversary translation of Magic Knight Rayearth.

* * *

We had just reached the outskirts of Cephiro when I heard Geo exclaim "This is pretty sweet.

"Eagle," he called from his position at the monitor, Zazu hovering at his side.

"Geo, what is it?" I walked over to his seat.

"Report," he said, turning to look at me.

"Something strange?" I asked, leaning over the back of his chair.

"Check it out," he said, tapping at the keyboard. "It's here onscreen." He gave a final tap and the large projector at the center of the command deck activated.

"There," he said as the image resolved itself. "Three giant robots, like your FTO. I wonder what they're doing here."

The robots were much more ornate than anything from Autozam. The one in the center was red with gold trimmings and scarlet jewels. Its head bore a silver crest with animal-like ear decorations to either side. On its left arm, it bore a narrow shield taller than itself and flames sprouted from somewhere on its back.

The one on the right was blue with a mix of gold and silver trimmings and had both azure and sunny yellow jewels. It was rather draconic in appearance, with an elongated head, a long tail, and black dragon wings sprouting from its back.

The one on the left was green with gold and white trimmings and deep green jewels. All of the white trimmings were rather featherlike, which was part of an overall avian appearance. It had a beaklike projection above its face and bore clever imitations of feathered wings on its back.

The green one's wings intrigued me. No one in Autozam would even think of giving a mecha unit such decorative and useless appendages. They would almost certainly be irreparably damaged in the mecha's first battle. These mecha had to be ceremonial in purpose.

Just as I thought that, one of those intriguing wings _twitched_, like it was reacting to a shift in the wind. The movement looked completely natural, like the wing was a functional appendage on a living creature. Those weren't machines! Suddenly, I knew exactly what they were.

"Those are Cephiro's legendary Mashin," I muttered.

Geo and Zazu started at that pronouncement, breaking off their ribbing of each other.

"So _those_ are the Mashin, eh?" Geo said.

"Which means," Zazu added, "inside them are the Legendary Magic Knights."

"Zazu," I said, turning away from the projection, "please ready my FTO for takeoff." I started walking toward the exit from the command deck.

"Say what?" Zazu cried. "You're taking it out? Why?!"

Pausing in my progress towards the exit, I turned and smiled at Zazu over my shoulder. "I plan to greet these Magic Knights, of course."

"Ahhhh!" Geo cried, rushing to get in front of me. "You are our _chief commander!_" he said, pointing a trembling finger at me. "How can you be the first to attack?"

"I am responsible for this mission," I said, "so I should formally greet our opposition. I'll take care of these so-called saviors of Cephiro—the Legendary Magic Knights."

Geo still tried to talk me out of going. He only relented after I pointed out that personal battle experience with the Magic Knights would best allow me to plan strategies for future confrontations with them.

:-:-:-:-:

Once the FTO had launched, I quickly burst out of the road and sped toward the startled Magic Knights. I had almost reached them when the red Mashin drew a sword out of thin air. I ignited the FTO's laser sword just in time to block its swordstroke. As I pressed down against the shield the red Mashin had brought up, I said "I am Eagle Vision of Autozam."

"Autozam?!" my opponent cried. Interestingly, the voice was that of a girl.

"These are the guys threatening Cephiro?" one of the other two said. That voice was also that of a girl.

During this exchange, the red Mashin had lowered the shield so that we were crossing blades, the FTO's laser sword pressing against the Mashin's material sword. I disengaged and drew back, letting the FTO's sword fade, then lashed out with the FTO's right leg. My opponent's reflexes were fast enough that the FTO's foot impacted the Mashin's shield instead of its body, but the effort it had taken to withstand the blow was clearly visible to me.

Pushing off against the shield, I jumped back out of range of the red Mashin's sword. "At last, we meet!" I said. "Greetings, Legendary Magic Knights.

"Wanna shake hands?" I asked as I rushed forward, re-igniting the FTO's laser sword. My opponent was visibly startled by the FTO's speed, barely managing to bring her sword up in time to block my blow. Just as our swords crossed, a bolt of pure energy came out of nowhere on my right and blasted through the space between us, forcing us to disengage.

_What was that?_ I thought, turning in the direction the blast had come from. I noticed in passing that all three of the Mashin were doing the same, but the majority of my attention was focused on finding the source of that blast.

Several hundred yards away, at about the same level as our feet, there was a black horse with a fiery mane and tail and flaming feet. Its rider was just lowering his sword. The rider had black hair and was clad in black armor with silver trimmings and blue jewels. The sword's hilt was a match for the rider's armor, but the blade appeared to be akin to the FTO's laser sword. There was also some winged creature hovering over the rider's right shoulder. The very familiar rider.

"Lantis?" I breathed, shocked. Even though I knew Lantis had left Autozam to return to Cephiro, it had never occurred to me that I might have to face him in battle. It should have, given that my plans were in direct opposition to his, but somehow, it hadn't.

The red Mashin had turned toward me at my shocked inhalation, but I paid it no heed. I turned the FTO and fled back to the road.

The trip back to the NSX passed in a blur. My thoughts were stuck in a repeating loop of _Lantis. Here. In Cephiro._ I managed to pull myself together in time to land the FTO safely at the docking station, but part of me was still reeling in shock.

As the cockpit door slid up, I could hear Zazu squawking about damage to the FTO, but Geo was all business. "So, how were the Legendary Magic Knights, anyway?" he asked.

"Look for yourself," I said distractedly as I stepped out of the cockpit and onto the walkway. My mind was still on Lantis. "The data's recorded in the FTO."

"What's eating you?" he asked as I passed him. "You look pale."

Now that he had mentioned it, I realized that I was feeling a bit lightheaded. "I saw Lantis," I replied.

"Lantis?!" he said, sounding as shocked as I was.

"It seems he did go back to Cephiro after all," I said. _That is what he said he was going to do,_ a little voice in the back of my mind said.

Then the lightheadedness I was feeling spiked and I pitched forward into Geo's arms. "So…tired…" I slurred.

"You used too much of your psychic energy," he scolded as my eyes closed. Then I felt him turn slightly and he said "Zazu! The road Eagle opened is dissipating."

If the road was dissipating, then I really had used too much of my psychic energy.

"We'd better pull back before it's completely gone," Geo said.

I dimly heard Zazu replying, but my senses were fading quickly. "Lantis," I whispered, "I'm sorry." _Sorry for going against your wishes. Sorry for betraying your trust._


End file.
